Bed-in-a-Box

Bed-in-a-Box (BIAB), located in Johnson City, Tennessee, is a manufacturer and seller of mattresses and other bedding products. Their products are sold exclusively over the Internet, therefore they are not found in local stores (unless you find a used one in a thrift store or consignment shop). However, they do ship free to anywhere in the 48 contiguous states.

According to Bed-in-a-Box, "BedInABox™, LLC was founded for the purpose of creating affordable luxury bedding for budget-conscious people. Our memory foam mattress can help to ease muscle and joint pain, providing the comfort needed for deep sleep and good health. Inside this website, you can learn about memory foam mattresses and how to get our quality mattress at the lowest price in America." BedInABox was founded in 2004. Its foams are manufactured by BASF in Mount Airy, North Carolina.

Most of the BedInABox mattresses feature gelmemory foam, which BedInABox calls CoolRest™ MemoryFoam. Gel-infused memory foam is now widely used to counter the tendency of memory foam to accumulate heat. This is combined with current open-cell formation of the visco-elastic memory foam to make the material breathable, hence cooler.

According to BedInABox, their memory foam is made from BiOH® polyols (made by Cargill), ranging 5% to 20% of the hydrocarbons in the foam. BiOH® polyols are plant-based foam precursors made from soy oil. This reduces the amount of petroleum used in the manufacturing of foam. With current technology, some fossil hydrocarbon (petroleum) is still needed for durability. Future technological development may change that.

It is good that BedInABox explains the role of soy oil in the formulation of foams. Another mattress manufacturer claimed that their polyurethane was partly soy-based, and was criticized by a reviewer because it had no more than 20%. An understanding of why would have been helpful in that case.

The cover materials used for BedInABox mattresses depend on the model. Some of the fibers used are rayon from bamboo, silk, Tencel, and Outlast. The heights of the mattresses also vary by model, ranging from 9 to 14 inches.

The question is natural, since most of us are used to seeing and feeling mattresses before buying them. But more of us are buying more products online, and in the case of memory foam mattresses, this could save a lot on the purchase price. BedInABox ships free to any part of the 48 contiguous United States.